Category: Blog

I am John Densmore. Doors drummer, writer, and activist. Our lead singer, my blood brother, Jim Morrison took his life.I wouldn’t say he was suicidal. He committed slow suicide via alcohol. I’m also staggered about Robin Williams checking out. My first book, Riders on the Storm, I closed out the book saying that these tragedies that have been in my life have made me cherish life. It’s really valuable to try and hang in there. I know there are…

Al of us at the LifeAfter Project recently had the distinct honor of working with actress, Danielle Harris, her husband David and their dog, Thor. Danielle and David are expecting their first child, a son. I have been friends with Danielle for several years and I am very happy for the two of them. People magazine reached out to her for the exclusive story. Danielle, who had planned on being involved with the LifeAfter Project, contacted me to do…

We’ve all known someone who seemed to have struggles within themselves. Who hasn’t experienced struggles and pain, for that matter? Inner struggles are a natural part of life. Some people can handle them and some aren’t as fortunate. My brother Patrick was one of the latter. He was four years older than me and was my best friend. He was the reason I got into music. He had his bouts with depression. Also with drugs and alcohol. That’s a…

When I am in the throws of a major depressive episode, being told to calm down – or to call my therapist, infuriates me. What I need, is someone who will listen to me, not just pass me off. What I need is someone who will hold my hand and kiss my cheek, not someone who will tell me to “calm down.” What I need is space, music, exercise, chocolate and sleep. What I need is for someone to say,…

For as long as I can remember, I’ve lived with an illness that for the most part goes unseen. To this day it is still difficult for friends and family to wrap their head around because on the outside: I look Ok. It’s an invisible illness. I didn’t catch it, and it wasn’t something that just happened to me one day out of the blue. As a child, there were subtle signs. As I grew older, they became more…

It really is. My life motto is “La Dolce Vita.” But obviously, a sweet life doesn’t come without sadness, tragedy, heartbreak, and sickness. It takes a lot of work to see beyond the dark stuff and just focus on the goodness. As the Dalai Lama said, “The purpose of our lives is to be happy.” But for some of us, that is easier than for others. What country, zip code and family you were born into may dictate certain…

My parent’s named me Tom Termeer. Unfortunately, I am known globally as the “Cluster Head Tom.” To those of you who do not know what that means, I live with a disease called Cluster Headaches. Researchers from Johns Hopkins Headaches Center have deemed them the most painful disease known to medical science. It is an extremely rare disease. This disease affects one person in a thousand. Commonly known as suicide headaches, because the suicide rate among sufferers is twice…

Growing up with mentally ill parents, this writer shares the shame and secrets that the family tried to hide. Caveat: Please understand that delusional thought processes are SYMPTOMS of mental illness. I feel compassion, even as I feel pain and anger as someone negatively affected by parental delusional thoughts. I, too, have experienced delusional thoughts and bizarre impulses. I’m heir to familial mental illness. I get it. I write this, I submit this for online publication, with great trepidation….

Originally published on The Lithium Chronicles I recently read an outstanding book that made the case FOR mental illness, rather than AGAINST it. Nassir Ghaemi, director of the Mood Disorders Programme at Tufts Medical Center, wrote, A First-Rate Madness: Uncovering the Links Between Leadership and Mental Illness. Gandhi, President Kennedy, Winston Churchill, and Martin Luther King Jr., were examined from Ghaemi’s point of view. He made an excellent case that the mood orders of these leaders actually benefited them–becoming…

Originally published on The Mighty Dear mom and dad, First off, I’d like to say I am a teenager diagnosed with major depression (with psychotic symptoms and a potential eating disorder). I also experience severe anxiety. I want you both, as well as parents and guardians of other teenagers dealing with mental illness, to see things from my perspective for a moment. I don’t want to hurt you. I don’t mean to scare you or make you feel…

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All proceeds raised by and donated to the LifeAfter Project is used and utilized to help individuals and families who are and have suffered from the perils of mental illness, as well as assistance with suicide prevention, substance abuse and addiction, as well as to help women and children who are victims of domestic abuse and violence. If you or your organization would like to work with the LifeAfter Project in a joint effort to raise funds for these efforts, please contact Brian at Brian@LifeAfterProject.org